Over the last week, I've enjoyed (for want of a more appropriate word) a book and a movie both of which have somewhat similar themes although each is very different. The book (with thanks to Steven Lubet for recommending it) was Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man which dealt with the first criminal prosecution in Australia of a policeman for an aboriginal death in custody. It's hard to believe that such a prosecution didn't occur until a few years ago. And the detail with which the author investigates the Queensland police culture and the aboriginal indigenous culture is really quite impressive. She obviously had more access to the Palm Island inhabitants and their legal representatives, but she did her best with what she had with respect to other groups involved in the story including police groups and politicians. She raises lots of inter-racial issues for which there are no easy answers, but the book certainly makes you think.
I also watched a movie from 2007 which I hadn't heard of before - actually, I think it might have been a Netflix recommendation. It's called The Visitor and it stars Richard Jenkins. The film deals with an unlikely friendship that develops between a dispirited old college professor and a young couple of illegal immigrants who end up living in his New York apartment. It deals with themes of racial differences, particularly between Arabs and Americans post-9/11 in the immigration context. It also deals to a small extent with the 
relationship between the boyfriend and girlfriend in the illegal couple as the woman is from Senegal and the man is from Syria. The writing, directing and acting are very subtle and understated, but it is still an engaging film that makes you think about immigration, cultural differences, and to some extent what our goals are/should be both personally and on a larger scale. I really wasn't expecting to enjoy the movie so much, but I would recommend it - again, hardly light holiday viewing, but maybe sometime in the new year...
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